Rex Nolan Day Part 2
"Now... don't you two go running off just yet!" Henry chided. "This," he said forcing a glass into both Rex and Riley's hands, "is not piss warm and usually costs more than any of us make in a week, so indulge me..." Rex looked at Riley and begrudgingly put the pistol back in the waist band of his of his pants Riley would have preferred not to drink, seeing as alcohol and firearms were generally left best unmixed, but at the same time, if her clock was going to be punched by Ruttin’ Rex Nolan, she’d hate for her last drink on earth to be a scuzzy tasting beer served above room temperature. And despite her reservations, whatever celebratory drink Lao poured wasn’t the worst thing she’d had out of a shot glass, and if forced at gunpoint to tell the truth, it was likely probably the best. Still, it seemed like a lot of hoopla for just one win, but then again, that’s why she rarely frequented bars like the Jade Monkey. The only acceptable bars were Military or those that involved a mechanical bull, not necessarily in that order. Henry had some sort of dirt on Rex Nolan, because the outlaw was acting less like himself and more like an actual human for once. It was disconcerting. Henry had connections, that much was evident, and she eyed the huge bag of Mach. She hadn't seen a score like that since flying with the 99, and it was tempting, extremely tempting, but she also wasn’t looking to a) get busted with intent to sell or b) have that much of a stash around with a seven year old pickpocket, or La-loyd, who likely would think they were candy and serve them up to the whole crew crushed into pudding. Well, if nothing else, shit would get done, and she contemplated it for the briefest of moments. Deciding against it, she took seven tablets, enough to get her to the core, not enough to get a long term sentence. It was also less likely to be lethal if some idiot thought they were aspirin, as that’s the vial from her pocket she dropped them into. "Now Rex, full disclosure... it's Henry now, though you know Mason was never my real moniker anyway... and whatever miscommunication y'all had in the past is also cleared up on your end... right?" he asked giving Rex a stern look. “Of course," Rex replied. Well, at least the captain will be happy. "Lieutenant," Rex said as he plopped into a cushy seat in a quiet room, "take the detour you need to the core planet... then..." Taking orders from Rex Nolan ranked right up there with warm beer, getting clapped on the back of the neck, and having a gun put in your ribs. All of them leave you nauseous with an urge to punch something. “It's not a detour.” She decided, mostly because it made sense, but partly because it felt good to say no to Rex Nolan, who obviously was somehow indebted to Henry. “If we have a clean slate, then we don’t have to clean up Serrano’s shit fest.” “No,” Rex Nolan agreed. “But going to the core is probably the last place you want to be right now. In fact? I've heard rumors that your ship will be a lot more ‘purple’ real soon. I’d give you a head’s up as to why, but where’s the fun in that? Give me a holler if you change your mind about the job on the rim.” “Sonuvabitch, did you plant something on my ship?” “Didn’t have to.” Rex Nolan replied, sliding an Alliance issue tablet across the table with some images that made Riley’s eyes wide with recognition. “But you know how tenacious the boys in the alliance can be if they get a notion in their heads. Good luck with that.” One of the images was of Devron, it looked like they were hot under the collar for an engineer for one of their ships, and if they weren’t, the man had made it on Niska’s radar. Gill & Haddie? Why were they listed too? The why didn't matter as much as preventing anything from happening, which meant they needed to get back to the ship fast. “Decision time, Henry.” Riley told him. It looked like he had friends on Ezra with fancy liquor and fighting. Yes, Ezra seemed like the ass end of the verse to her, but to each his own. She shouldered past Rex Nolan to collect her sidearm, letting Henry decide to follow or not.